Brandon has his first day at a new school.

Brandon has his first day at a new school.

As a SEAL sniper and combat veteran, Webb was tapped to revamp the U.S. Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) Scout/Sniper School, incorporating the latest advances in technology and ballistics software to create an entirely new course that continues to test the skills and even the best warriors. In this revealing new book, Webb takes readers through every aspect of this training, describing how Spec Ops snipers are taught each dimension of their art. Trainees learn to utilize every edge possible to make their shot--from studying crosswinds, barometric pressure, latitude, and even the rotation of the Earth to becoming ballistic experts. But marksmanship is only one aspect of the training. Each SEAL's endurance, stealth and mental and physical stamina are tested and pushed to the breaking point. Webb also shows how this training plays out in combat, using real-life exploits of the world's top snipers, including Jason Delgado, who led a Marine platoon in the Battle of Husaybah and made some of the most remarkable kill shots in the Iraq War; Nicholas Irving, the U.S. Army Ranger credited with thirty-three kills in a single three-month tour in Afghanistan; and Rob Furlong, who during Operation Anaconda delivered the then-longest kill shot in history. During Webb's sniper school tenure, the course graduated some of the deadliest and most skilled snipers of this generation, including Marcus Luttrell (Lone Survivor), Adam Brown (Fearless), and Chris Kyle (American Sniper). From recon and stalk, to complex last minute adjustments, and finally the moment of taking the shot, The Killing School demonstrates how today's sniper is trained to function as an entire military operation rolled into a single individual--an army of one.

Brandon Novak, an actor known for the films Jackass and Viva La Bam, among others, was a teenage skateboarder, but his lust for heroin led to a junkie’s destiny on the streets of Baltimore. Arrests, rehabs, and drug-tortured love triangles consumed Novak’s life, until his childhood friend and Jackass alumnus Bam Margera guided him to MTV fame. But Novak’s stardom led him down a self-destructive path that forced him to sculpt his future. This suspenseful memoir is interspersed with action, humor, and inspiration.

Combining both the theory as well as the practice of the education reform process, this unique breakthrough volume focuses on every aspect of the change process in high school education today. Short- and long-term strategies for each phase of the process-provoking, creating, managing, supporting, and sustaining reform-are covered. Based on the real-life experiences of the author and others, this book recognizes that most high school reform is short-lived. It stresses the ways to create and maintain positive change, making the process a long-lasting, worthwhile mission for the school's leadership and ultimately the students. Short, useful summaries of high school reform provide true-life pictures of what really happens in the midst of changing the way educational institutions operate. These stories cover school-based management, collaborative or shared leadership, school-within-a-school groupings, interdisciplinary instruction, school-based budgeting, new models for professional development, and others. Through these examples, readers can understand how reform strategies work and how to apply and adapt them to their own situations. As an added feature, this book provides the names and locations of schools attempting each reform as well as the names and addresses of school reform networks that readers can contact in their own efforts.

The magical world teeters on the brink of collapse. The Dragon King, Celebrant, has united the dragons into a vengeful army, and only a final artifact stands in the way of them unleashing their fury against humankind. With established allegiances shifting under the strain, Seth and Kendra find themselves in desperate need of new allies. Seth must face his most dangerous quest--the fulfillment of his pledge to the Singing Sisters. With only Calvin the Tiny Hero at his side, Seth needs to collect the pieces of the Ethergem, including the stones from the crowns of the Dragon King, the Giant Queen, and the Demon King. Halfway across the world, Kendra finds herself torn between her duty to Dragonwatch and her desire to rescue Bracken. Can she challenge Ronodin's control of the fairy realm without leaving the five legendary dragon slayers to be hunted by Celebrant and his sons? Left behind at Titan Valley, Knox and Tess must survive the aftermath of the Giant Queen's fall. Will the secret crown in Knox's possession prove too much for him to handle? In this fifth and final volume of Dragonwatch, our heroes make their last stand at the hidden Kingdom of Selona. For the defenders of light to stand a chance, the legendary dragon slayers must arise, lost secrets must be uncovered, and ancient powers must awaken. Get ready for the gripping, revelatory, and unforeseen conclusion to the epic ten-volume New York Times best-selling Fablehaven and Dragonwatch series.